Solharath
[ZTD] CEO
Took care of the location bits.
The stage list, especially FoD over FD, took me a long time to come up with. I weighed the fact that this is, first and foremost, a game based on the fact that it is a platform fighter. To create a stage without any sort of platforms is a huge departure from how a stage is usually supposed to react and flow, and above all Final Destination has always been argued that it is more CP material than any other starter, and only retains its place due to lingering matchup bias against spacies, as it provides better fodder to just juggle them and other fast fallers. In a game with a few more of these types of characters, coupled with a much larger potential stagelist, there was just no way I could keep it while testing the five stage starter list.
As for FoD, it was chosen over GHZ, Yoshi's Story, FD, and Yoshi's Island (Brawl) due to the fact that it simply works the best as a neutral stage. There was a couple tests and surveys about the stages in PM and Smash in general and how, in the end, FoD was discovered to be the best neutral stage because many people felt that they didn't perform on that stage with an innate advantage. In other words, neutral. Arguing Battlefield and FoD as triangle stages is valid, but with the extreme differences in stage size, boundaries, and - most importantly - the varying heights of the side platforms, it differentiates itself from BF very fairly. It always shares 'Weird stage geometry' with GHZ, YS, and YI, but it didn't boast the crazier gimmicks of those stages either(swinging platform changing vertical and horizontally, lipped edges and broken tether recoveries ala Randall, extreme lips and random ghost spawns ala George, respectively).
If you dislike flatter stages, you are left with BF, WW, and FoD.
If you dislike triangle stages, you are left with WW, SV, and PS2
If you dislike walls, you are left with SV, PS2, and BF.
If you dislike platforms, you are (likely) left with SV, PS2, and FoD.
There was a lot of thought put into the stagelist so that someone could not just own the stagelist with stages only they like and perform well on, as that often removes the purpose of a counterpick. When people complain about 'Garbage Stagelists,' which is thrown around by the saltier members of our community, it usually means there are a couple stages that are not to their tastes, but are functionally fine on their own. This often is pointed at stages like Skyworld, Lylat Cruise, or Norfair. Be it stage lips that rob you of a stock that you yourself threw away on a careless recovery, or you screwed up the timing and ended up under the stage, or you couldn't find a solid position to prevent someone from running away(respectively), people are going to have issues with stages across the board, even and especially the neutrals.
That's my reasoning for the choice of FoD over FD. It plays into a better, fairer game one, and expanded a bit to include why certain stages exist in the CPs. I am not deaf to everyone's opinions on the stages, but player bias is one thing, balanced playing field is another.
EDIT: I am aware that Overswarm's survey both existed and was not very well put together, both in subject size, time, and other factors. It's also the more recent example, but not the only one that's ever been done. Regardless, FoD and FD have remained starters for years in Melee, yet the argument for FD has always been that it exists mostly as a spacie counter among many matchups that happens to be a neutral stage for some of the matchups among viable characters and, more aptly, to fair up a match between an unviable character and a viable one. With PM more balanced and more of the cast viable, FD exists and provides far more extremes in gameplay, forcing a great many characters to forcibly ban FD. There are enough aspects about FoD that it is never truly against any character at every single moment of the match, and specifically the stage runs on a timer, same as Randall.
Last edited:
. either way someone is getting hit with the ultra move lol. i look forward to seeing you all there!!!. my ganon has been retired for now. but i may still pull him out when i have a certain MU. the T-bird falcon shwick ratio is still in my favor. so i will have to ganon that MU. lol.